hello guys i have an old jc higgins bolt action 12 ga
and im having issues with the gun firing every time
sometimes i can fire the 1st chambered round and sometimes not
i have looked at the bolt handle and it seems to be worn a bit
the metal on the rear of the bolt handle where it meets up with the reciever of the gun seems to be aorn down at an angle slightly and is liped upwards a lil bit
anything i can do to fix the gun
or can i buy a new bolt? sorry about the clarity

I doubt that little wear is the problem. When it does not fire- does it click? When it does not fire does it make a light strike on the primer? Could be the sear, trigger, or mainspring. We need to know exactly what it does to diagnose the problem.

mudfreek

09-07-2012 05:14 PM

when is does not fire it does click the firing pin touches the the primer and this maybe a stupid question whats a sear? when it does fire the firing pin will sometimes go through the primer also i just noticed that the guide on the bottom of the bolt is worn verry badly

c3shooter

09-08-2012 12:00 AM

OK- I hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news, but there has been a safety recall for many years on a number of JC Higgins 12 g bolt action shotguns. Problem is in the design, and IS NOT FIXABLE. Sears is offering a $50 Sears gift card in exchange for the bolt from one of the recalled shotguns . It used to be more, but this is an OLD recall. See the link, and see if yours is one of the affected models.

OK- I hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news, but there has been a safety recall for many years on a number of JC Higgins 12 g bolt action shotguns. Problem is in the design, and IS NOT FIXABLE. Sears is offering a $50 Sears gift card in exchange for the bolt from one of the recalled shotguns . It used to be more, but this is an OLD recall. See the link, and see if yours is one of the affected models.

The problem he is describing has nothing at all to do with the recall problem. I cant help with the described problem, but.....

The recall problem is easily fixed with a thirty cent set screw. The problem was with the bolt shearing off the undersized screw that keeps the bolt from falling out when you cycle the bolt. I have had two of these guns, both of which I drilled out the retaining screw hole, re-tapped it for a a larger set screw, and it works like a champ.

hiwall

09-08-2012 12:46 AM

Sounds like the striker is hanging up sometimes. Look for burrs on striker. Or maybe the trigger is not engaging the sear(the sear is most likely made into the striker on this model). I'm to lazy to go out to the shop to look at an exploded view. Take c3's advise and try to get the $50 or save it for a local police buy-back program. Or hang it up for a decoration.

Chainfire

09-08-2012 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiwall
(Post 932278)

Sounds like the striker is hanging up sometimes. Look for burrs on striker. Or maybe the trigger is not engaging the sear(the sear is most likely made into the striker on this model). I'm to lazy to go out to the shop to look at an exploded view. Take c3's advise and try to get the $50 or save it for a local police buy-back program. Or hang it up for a decoration.

One of these guns in excellent condition is only worth $150.00, the average price for a good gun is probably less than $75.00, so if you can't resolve the problem on you own, it is probably not worth taking to a smith for repairs.

If you can solve the problem it is an ok, if not highly desireable hunting shotgun or home defense gun. It is one that I wouldn't mind taking a chop saw to reduce the barrel to short-legal length. The one I have left works like a champ an it has a bit of a cheap-chic draw for me. ;)

Old_Crow

09-09-2012 10:53 PM

I would say it's the firing pin. The firing pin often breaks in a manner that requires a new firing pin for comparison to see the difference. The wear on that gun is natural and won't hurt a thing.

mudfreek

09-10-2012 11:45 AM

ok thanks for the replies guys i know about the recall and from the description that i read on it i wasnt worried its not like the bolt would explode
the gun is supposed a new firing pin from the original owner what if i was to remove a small amount of metal where the pin rides at the back of the bolt so that the firing pin goes further

xcoreyyyx

09-10-2012 12:49 PM

2 Attachment(s)

I tried to find a good exploded view of this but I didn't find a labeled one which sucks. It does sound like a sear problem seeing as how a sear went bad on one of my rifles recently and needs to be replaced. The attached images are of my bolt and sear. The sear sits into the top of the bolt and just wore down after time. My problem was I would cycle the bolt and the spring and everything would be held except the firing pin and it would click but not fire. If I cycled it and played with it (cycling back and forth on the back 1/2 of the cycle) it would sometimes fire but it wasn't consistent.

I also did some light filing like you were talking about on a hangup on my friends savage and it cleared up a trigger problem he had from him cycling the bolt too hard and it had made a lip on the bottom side of the bolt that held the trigger and wouldn't let you pull it. If you are going to do that, make sure that you know that what your fixing is definitely the problem before you just go sanding this and filing that. Also, do it by hand and very small amounts at a time.